Venmo enables customers to make online payments for kitchenware at Williams-Sonoma

15 September 2017

Venmo, a mobile payment service owned by PayPal, entered into a partnership with Williams-Sonoma, a San Francisco-based publicly traded consumer retail company selling mostly kitchenware and home furnishings, to allow Venmo users to make purchases at the retailer and pay for them using their Venmo accounts.

Mike Vaughan, COO at Venmo, told to the Code Commerce conference in New York City that Venmo users may make payments from their Venmo accounts or charge their bank account for the items purchased on the website of Williams-Sonoma and also split the cost of their gifts with others using Venmo.

The deal will be profitable for both partners, even though the fee for the transaction will be levied on the retailer, as more customers will be attracted to Williams-Sonoma while the number of active PayPal account holders will also increase.

Vaughan noted that they are in discussions with Laura Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma over possible use of Venmo at physical retail locations based on the combination of digital and mobile payment methods.

The announcement comes several days after Venmo reported the launch of its new pilot program for select customers to trial a new debit card in beta. The debit card issued by Venmo will be provided to users linked to their Venmo accounts and can be used for payments in brick-and-mortar stores, online and in mobile transactions.